2024 Program | Prague Media Point

PRAGUE MEDIA POINT 2024:

What's Working: Responding to AI-Induced Volatility in the Media

When: Friday, November 29, 2024, 9 am - 7 pm

Where: Goethe Institut Prague, Masarykovo nábř. 32, 110 00 Prague, Czechia

It is our pleasure to invite you to the 9th installment of the Prague Media Point Conference!

Artificial intelligence has come with a power to dramatically shaken our economic, labour, and information systems. For the media sphere, it means yet another drastic turn on its bumpy ride towards any prospect of renewed stability. But unlike many other such turns, AI may provide professionals with a reactive (and creative) potential on a more egalitarian and therefore democratic basis. With the hindsight of around two years of widely accessible AI tools, join Prague Media Point in assessing the impact on and responses of the media sphere and journalism to the two-vowel phenomenon. Be that on the job market, school curricula, newsroom policies, media regulation, journalistic solidarity, and beyond.

The program will revolve around three principal areas:

1) Use of AI in European newsrooms and media agencies

Where we are, what’s worked well so far, cultural/generational divides

2) Leadership and educational strategies in the age of AI

Responding to challenges, media development, adaptability constraints

3) AI, media ethics, and diversity

Protecting free information space, upholding standards, sustainability, and trust

The detailed conference program will gradually be uncovered and updated here, under individual sessions:

Keynote speech - Has AI really been the earthquake it seemed?

Pierre Romera Zhang, Chief Technology Officer, ICIJ, France

Leading a niche media outlet in the age of AI

In this session, several experts responsible for the general management of a thematically or genre focused medium will discuss the adaptation strategies such media can or should employ in the light of ongoing or looming digital developments around. Is it realistic to chase trends without the safety blanket of a bigger medium? Can a niche focus be advantageous in this regard? How are they reading the situation of other smaller media in their respective countries?

Bojan Stojkovski, Editor in Chief, IT Logs, North Macedonia
Krzysztof Chojnowski, Editor in Chief, Moja Ostrołęka, Poland
Dragana Obradović, Country Director, BIRN, Serbia
Workshop on clearing and extracting from large data using AI

The ability to extract desired information from large quantities of documents is crucial for efficiency of particularly investigative journalists. This workshop will unfold some of the most popular ways of utilizing AI for a trust-worthy extraction from big data, with particular focus on how to choose the right strategy, set up a workflow and streamline already established processes.

Advanced knowledge isn't required, nor is it necessary to be an investigative/data journalist. Anyone interested is welcome.

Capacity is however limited, please sign up here if you wish to attend.

Borislav Vukojević, Senior Teaching assistant and AI consultant, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Workshop on data visualisation for more accessible investigations and storytelling

In this capacity-building workshop, attendees will learn how to enhance their investigations and storytelling through dynamic and interactive data visualisations. In a fast-paced world where long, thorough reads go against the audience's attention span, effective visualisations are crucial for keeping the interest and offering new perspectives for the reader. This session will be primarily focused on investigation and data journalists, working with larger datasets, but will be useful and open also for others who wish to make their articles more non-linear and user-friendly.

Advanced knowledge isn't required, nor is it necessary to be an investigative/data journalist. Anyone interested is welcome.

Capacity is however limited, please sign up here if you wish to attend.

Lazar Čovs, Data Journalist and Trainer, Serbia
(Dialogue) Ethics and AI: an Uneasy Marriage?

AI poses several major ethical challenges in both its usage and implications. This goes for all fields where it can be employed, but with particular importance in information and media spaces. How is the media sphere in Europe reacting to this challenge? Do we have the mechanisms to uphold journalistic standards which maintain readers' trust in a qualified and informed public debate?

Eugenia Stamboliev, Media scholar and Philosopher of Technology, University of Vienna, Austria
Vincent Berthier, Head of Technology Desk, Reporters without Borders, France
Media and Diversity in the Age of Algorithm

This panel brings together academic and civil society organisations to discuss journalism’s role in serving the public interest in light of the wider societal implications of news algorithms. Algorithms aim to assist journalists in identifying potential resources for producing news stories, where the algorithms typically rank the news elements from various sources based on statistical analysis, e.g., outliers, trends, and correlations. Earlier studies have found that algorithms affect how different groups of society are included or excluded in the news, and inherent biases in commercialized search engines have been found to marginalize minority groups and reproduce inequalities. To understand the social and political impact of news algorithms, scholars have either looked at organizational factors that encourage/discourage the adoption of algorithmic journalism or have examined how stratification and institutional resources create patterns of asymmetry in service to the public. The session offers an overview of academic research projects on the subject and civil society organizations’ activities in this area of study. It will introduce the latest MDI publication “Media and Diversity in the Age of Algorithmic Curation”.

Moderator: Milica Pesić, Executive Director, Media Diversity Institute, UK

Verica Rupar, Professor of journalism, School of Communication Studies, AUT, New Zealand
Yazan Abu Al Rous, Salam Online Project Manager/Community Strategist, Media Diversity Institute, Jordan
Hana Kojaković, Get the Trolls Out! Project Manager, Media Diversity Institute Global, UK
Case studies of AI-supported Investigations from the V4, Western Balkans, and beyond

This session will present examples of how AI can and has been used in investigations. Case studies from different regions will map the processes and tools used, with an assessment of success and sharing the lessons learnt in the making. This will provide a view into what's possible, how costly and labour-intensive it was and will consider comparisons with non-AI-dependant, traditional methods.

Teodora Ćurčić, Data and Investigative Journalist, CINS, Serbia
Anastasiia Morozova, Data and Investigative Journalist, Frontstory.pl, Ukraine/Poland
Adapting Media/Journalism Education and Upskilling for the New Paradigm

This discussion will unfold what have been (or should be) some of the responses on the side of higher educational institutions in journalism/media studies, or newsrooms themselves, to the spreading of AI use and related possibilities in the field. Are universities adapting enough? What are some of the channels of cooperation between students/educators and practicioners out there? How can we steer towards ensuring the best qualified workforce for the newsrooms of tomorrow?

Ioanna Georgia Eskiadi, School of Journalism and Mass Media Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Borislav Vukojević, Senior Teaching Assistant and AI consultant, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pavel Kasík, Science Journalist, Seznam Zprávy, Czechia
Protecting the European Information and Media Space from AI's Potential Harms?

This panel will explore the unique risks AI poses to information ecosystems, from disinformation amplification to biases in automated news and media algorithms. Experts will discuss where we stand and assess the particular proactive measures that are being developed to secure the European digital sphere. Be that by developing effective policy frameworks, ethical AI standards, or cross-sector collaboration to foster resilience against manipulative or harmful AI applications.
The AI – Resources – Independence Conundrum

Marius Dragomir, Director, Media and Journalism Research Center, Spain/Austria
Asya Metodieva, Media Support Coordinator for CEE, Thompson Foundation, Bulgaria/Czechia
Damir Agovic, Strategic Partnerships Manager, News Partnerships, Google, Czechia
SLAPPs and Safety of Journalists: Where We Stand

Though not too related to the developments around AI, the framework for securing safer and more comfortable environment for journalists has been developing as steadily. What is the current situation around journalist safety in Europe? Has EMFA and other EU initiatives helped along thus far? Is there enough support from the key figures - and journalists themselves - for these processes?

Lukáš Diko, Director, Investigatívne Centrum Jána Kuciaka, Slovakia
Konrad Siemaszko, Lawyer and Head of the Freedom of Expression Programme, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Poland
Tamara Filipovic, Coordinator, SafeJournalists Network, Serbia
Vinzenz Wyss and Louis Schäfer, Institute for Applied Media Studies (IAM) at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Switzerland - presentation "SLAPP Suits in Switzerland: Approaching a complex phenomenon"

As an interdisciplinary event, part of the conference will again be dedicated to presentations of academic or other interesting projects. These can be found below:

Ethical AI Governance, Trust, and Deepfake Regulation in the UAE's Media Landscape

In today's artificial intelligence (AI) era, the ethical governance of deepfake technology is crucial for regulatory innovation. This study examines the United Arab Emirates (UAE) strategies for embedding trust in its media and advertising sectors. It assesses current AI regulatory frameworks and proposes an Ethical AI Global Benchmark model. The research conducts a SWOT analysis of public policy documents and engages experts in digital media advertising, AI, and ethics through a Delphi study. The findings highlight gaps in explicit regulation and enforcement mechanisms for deepfakes. The proposed Ethical AI Global Benchmark model advocates for robust regulatory frameworks encompassing transparency, accountability, privacy, and fairness. It emphasizes stakeholder engagement, technology adaptation, and education. This research contributes to the global discourse by offering a model tailored to the UAE's unique cultural milieu, reconciling the aspiration to become a prolific AI hub with a vanguard position in ethical AI governance.

Nivea Heluey, Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain/UAE

Proactive vs. reactive: A multi-country analysis of how news media covers AI’s impact on copyright

This study thematically analyzed coverage news containing the keywords “artificial intelligence” and “copyright” through 2023 in top newspapers The New York Times, The Guardian (UK), China Daily, and the South China Morning Post (Di Salvo & Negro, 2016; Ha & Shin, 2019; Nguyen & Hekman, 2022), considering that artificial intelligence has garnered much news media attention in 2023 (Topping, 2023). Thematic analysis was employed by the authors as it is a common method for comparative media studies. The articles were obtained through the Nexis Uni database, and the keywords had to be within 25 words of each other to better ensure that the keywords were related in the articles. After removing duplications and erroneous selections, the final sample was 22 from The New York Times, 19 from The Guardian, 10 from China Daily’s European edition and three from the South China Morning Post. Overall, newspapers were slow to raise concerns about artificial intelligence and copyright, seemingly replicating mass media’s failure to prepare its business model for the internet (Jin , 2012; Vukanovic, 2011). The analysis indicates that news media reacted to how artificial intelligence is affecting the wider industry instead of trying proactively shape policy. Lastly, copyright reform was framed largely in domestic terms even though copyright has wide-ranging impact.

Marisa Porto, University of North Carolina, USA
Steve Bien-Aimé, University of Kansas, USA

AI everywhere: a practice-based research study on the use of generative AI in Scandinavian newsrooms

AI is everywhere in journalism at the moment. Or is it? The study looks into how generative AI is applied and discussed in Scandinavian newsrooms right now. AI can help journalists find stories, develop ideas, explore data and analyze large amounts of information faster and more accurately than ever before (Heesen et al., 2023, Petridis et al., 2023). Nevertheless, there are major challenges and pitfalls associated with the use of AI in journalism. For example, AI algorithms can be biased if they are trained on data that is not representative of the entire population. This can lead to erroneous reporting and reinforcement of prejudices and stereotypes (Paik, 2023). Additionally, the use of AI can cause a loss of critical thinking and human understanding, which is necessary to tell complex stories and communicate with audiences in a meaningful way that relates to user needs and media consumption (Munoriyarwa; Chiumbu & Motsaathebe, 2023). Our project will explore these benefits, biases and pitfalls. In collaboration with media and journalists, we will examine how AI is being used in the media today and identify the biggest challenges and concerns. We will also explore the potentialities for using AI to improve journalism, including looking at best practices in the field.

Steffen Moestrup, Danish School of Media and Journalism, Denmark

AI Tools Usage in Communication and Marketing Promotion. Romanian Digital Agencies Approaches to AI

This paper aims to identify AI tools utilized by communication and marketing professionals in Romanian agencies, examining their practices and patterns of AI usage. The focus is on understanding the purposes behind using AI tools for various communication and social media marketing activities, as well as the digital skills necessary for optimal performance from the agencies' perspective. Additionally, the paper explores AI expert practices within Romanian digital agencies serving clients in Romania, Western Europe, and the USA.

Catalina Niculescu, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Romania

Envisioning the Societal Future of AI Journalism through Public Scholarship

In the context of a multitude of crises, including ecological, migratory, security, and a crisis of trust in the democratic core institutions of politics, business, and media (Flew, 2021), our research question is as follows: "How can AI journalism make the world a better place?" The second part of the research question is based on a long-term project in the emerging field of public scholarship (Billard, & Waisbord, 2024), which we aim to connect to the field of AI. Our form of public scholarship is transdisciplinary research. By integrating a diverse range of stakeholders from civil society, practice, and academia into the research process, we generate new, connectable, transformative, and socially robust knowledge on a given topic (Vilsmaier et al., 2018).

Alexis von Mirbach, LMU Munich, Germany

Back to basics: Building stronger community connections through digital innovation in a local news outlet

As AI transforms the media landscape, we argue that sometimes the most innovative step is to master the basics. Our session, "Back to basics: Building stronger community connections through digital innovation in a local news outlet", will showcase how Parameter.sk, an independent digital local media outlet catering to the Hungarian minority in the conservative (and Orban-influenced) southern part of Slovakia, managed to create stronger reader relationships through digital innovations. This session presents the collaborative project between FatChilli for Publishers and Parameter, focused on deepening the relationship with readers, transforming it into a two-way interaction that fosters greater community involvement and loyalty. We will explore the strategies implemented to attract registered readers and enhance their engagement and showcase results and practical examples.

Martina Klárová, Brand & Partnerships Development, FatChilli for Publishers, Slovakia

Balint Barak, Co-owner and Managing director at Parameter.sk, Slovakia

Revamping Journalism Education in the Age of AI in Europe

The rapid integration of AI in media and journalism is outpacing current educational frameworks while at the same time there is a gap in AI literacy among journalism professionals, affecting the quality and ethics of news reporting. It is observed that newsroom policies and media regulations are lagging behind technological advancements. Our aim is to provide information, analysis and practical solutions about emphasizing on how to reform journalism and media education to include comprehensive AI literacy, to develop adaptive newsroom policies that leverage AI ethically and effectively and finally to enhance media literacy among journalists and the public to critically engage with AI-generated content.

Ioanna Georgia Eskiadi, School of Journalism and Mass Media Communication, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Discursive Legitimation of AI Technologies: Evidence from French Media

The primary goal of this research is to investigate how AI technologies are legitimized through media coverage. The study aims to understand the discursive strategies used by various stakeholders to influence public perception and institutional acceptance of AI. Additionally, it seeks to analyze the role of journalism in shaping the discourse around AI technologies and its impact on institutional change. Our study on discursive legitimation involves analyzing articles about AI from French print media, sourced from the Europresse database. We selected articles from newspapers such as "Le Monde", "Les Echos", "Le Figaro", and "Liberation", using their circulation and influence as the primary selection criterion.

Mohamed Benabid, University mohammed VI polytechnic, Morocco

SLAPP Suits in Switzerland: Approaching a complex phenomenon

In an era where AI is transforming the media landscape and journalists globally face increasing threats, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) and the Swiss media industry have collaboratively developed a national action plan for journalists’ safety in Switzerland (NAP). A key focus is understanding “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)”, which aim to suppress free public discourse. OFCOM commissioned our institute to study SLAPPs’ frequency, dynamics, affected media types, and potential effects in the Swiss media industry.

Vinzenz Wyss and Louis Schäfer, Institute for Applied Media Studies (IAM) at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), Switzerlandl,

Contact: Marek Přeček, Project Coordinator, precek@keynote.cz

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